Fog Sound Signals!

Fog – Sound Signals

So you’re out on the water and suddenly find yourself in thick fog, what do you do? Do you know the rules for sound signals in fog? Do you know when and how often you should sound your foghorn? You hear a fog horn blow in the distance, do you answer?

Thick, heavy fog can be a very scary thing when you’re on the water. You can’t see landmarks. You become disoriented.

Fog can seem to just come out of nowhere. The tide changes and the fog settles in over you. You’re out boating enjoying a great day of fishing and all of a sudden you’re blind. The boats around you vanish in an instant. The shoreline disappears. The rips disappear but you might still be able to hear them. What should you do?

What Causes Fog to Form

First of all, what causes sea fog to form? Hot, humid air hits the cooler water making what is known as sea fog. Sometimes you’ll have foggy conditions all day long. Other times sea fog may form as the tides change bringing in warmer water on an outgoing tide or colder water on an incoming tide.

I fish the waters on the south side of Cape Cod. The Atlantic Ocean. If you’ve ever fished the south side of Cape Cod around Monomoy, then you’ve certainly encountered sea fog. In late summer, especially the hot and muggy days of August, you’ll almost certainly find heavy foggy conditions around Monomoy.

What to do

The very first thing you should do is to SLOW DOWN! I can’t stress this enough. I can’t count how many times I’ve almost been run over because some yahoo is driving way too fast in dense fog.

Next thing is to post a lookout as far forward as possible. I usually ask everyone on board to keep a sharp eye and to listen carefully for any approaching vessels. Use your radar. Know what’s around you. What’s ahead of you, and know what’s approaching. Make sure that your running lights are on. This can be an easy thing to forget especially if you were in bright sunshine a few minutes earlier.

Finally, begin sounding your foghorn in accordance with the rules as laid out in the 72COLREGS.

72COLREGS

What are COLREGS? COLREGS are the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea designed to update and replace the Collision Regulations of 1960.  The 1972 (COLREGS) are published by the International Maritime Organization. These recognized navigation rules are followed internationally by ships and other vessels at sea. They were adopted at an international convention in 1972, thus called the 72COLREGS, and put into force in July of 1977.

41 rules are divided into six sections. Part A – General; Part B – Steering and Sailing; Part C – Lights and Shapes; Part D – Sound and Light signals;  Part E – Exemptions; and Part F – Verification of compliance with the provisions of the Convention.

Source:  International Maritime Organization, IMO.

Restricted Visibility

Rule 35 of the COLREGS has very specific instructions for power boats in restricted visibility situations. “Restricted visibility” is any condition in which your visibility is hampered or impaired. This could be heavy rain, fog, snow, or even sand storms, or similar causes. Remember the recent blockage of the Suez Canal after the grounding of Ever Given. Hit with heavy winds and a sandstorm, it ended up wedged across the waterway.

Rule 35 of the COLREGS – Sound Signals in Restricted Visibility

In or near an area of restricted visibility, whether by day or night, the signals prescribed in this Rule shall be used as follows:

(a) A power-driven vessel making way through the water shall sound at intervals of not more than 2 minutes one prolonged blast.

(b) A power-driven vessel underway but stopped and making no way through the water shall sound at intervals of not more than 2 minutes two prolonged blasts in succession with an interval of about 2 seconds between
them.

(c) A vessel not under command; a vessel restricted in her ability to maneuver, whether underway or at anchor; a sailing vessel; a vessel engaged in fishing, whether underway or at anchor; and a vessel engaged in towing or pushing another vessel shall, instead of the signals prescribed in paragraphs (a) or (b) of this Rule, sound at intervals of not more than 2 minutes, three blasts in succession; namely, one prolonged followed by two
short blasts.

(d) A vessel towed or if more than one vessel is towed the last vessel of the tow if manned, shall at intervals of not more than 2 minutes sound four blasts in succession; namely, one prolonged followed by three short blasts.
When practicable, this signal shall be made immediately after the signal made by the towing vessel.

(e) When a pushing vessel and a vessel being pushed ahead are rigidly connected in a composite unit they shall be regarded as a power-driven vessel and shall give the signals prescribed in paragraphs (a) or (b) of this Rule.

Power-driven Vessels

My attention here is to motor boats or power-driven vessels. I’ve included the whole rule so that if you hear other fog horn signals, you may have an idea about what kind of traffic is around you. You should pay particular attention to parts (a) and (b).

Please note, if you’re out with the guys for a weekend fishing trip, you are not a “fishing” vessel. The COLREGS in Part (c) is referring to commercial fishing vessels.

Part (a) Sound Signals in Fog or Restricted Visibility

Part (a) is when your boat is “making way“.  Making way is determined by whether or not your boat has any speed through the water and if that speed is enough to make her rudder effective. In other words, can you steer the boat effectively given your current speed? If you’re drifting through the rips at 3 to 4 knots in a strong current and you can still effectively steer your boat with the rudder, then you are making way and should sound one prolonged blast of your horn every two minutes.

Part(b) Sound Signals in Fog or Restricted Visibility

Part (b) says “when you are underway but making no way. What does that mean? Underway, simply put, means that your vessel is not at anchor, made fast to the shore, or aground. Don’t confuse underway with making way. So in this case, part(b), you are underway, not at anchor, aground, or attached to the shore in any manner. Also, your boat isn’t moving or drifting fast enough where the rudder is effective. In this case, you should sound your horn two prolonged blasts in succession with an interval of about 2 seconds between them about every two minutes.

In or Near Restricted Visibility

Note that Rule 35 says, “In or near an area of restricted visibility, whether by day or night”. Use signals even when you’re not in a fog bank. When you’re boating near a fog bank, you can’t see what’s in the fog. They can’t see you either. Let others know that you’re there.

Use Your Equipment and Your Head

Last summer we were approaching the corner of Monomoy in a heavy fog. On radar, I could see a number of boats drifting in the rips on the corner so we made our way west so that we could give them plenty of room. In doing so we were sounding our fog horn as required about every two minutes.

At some point, one of the boaters, none of whom were sounding any kind of horn, replied over the radio. “Hey, #$$hole! Yes, your horn works! Knock it off!” Please don’t be like this guy! Use your equipment and follow the rules. Keep yourself, your passengers, and other boaters safe.

Know what the signals mean. Know when to use them. Check your equipment like your horn on occasion and make sure that it all works properly. Practice using your radar on a clear day. Learn how it works in good weather vs. waiting for fog. This will allow you to see what things look like on the radar screen. Then you can look and see how far they are away visually and compare the two.

I hope that this helps. If you know what to do and take your time, hopefully, you’ll be safe. Follow us on Facebook at @stpetesportfishing or read more of our blogs. Send some comments, we would love to hear your feedback.

Until Next Time,
Tight Lines and Smooth Seas!